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Saturday, June 10, 2006

Anybody want to play?

I'm bored. I've already mowed the lawn, bought a locking mailbox and helped the dh put it up, bought groceries, cooked 2 meals, cleaned the house, did the laundry--and I'm avoiding the WIP like the proverbial plague. So, anyone want to do a Round Robin? I'll start off with a paragraph or two, or three, you jump in and add as much as you want, then someone else jumps in for the next bit. We'll keep it going as long as there's interest.

For the sake of my kids' sensibilities, we'll keep it PG-13. If a post gets out of hand, I'll delete it and ban the poster, so keep it clean.

So...to start it off...

"Karen, would you hurry up? We're going to be late. You know how angry Mr. Skiles gets when we're late." Jessica Winters checked her reflection in the mirror and adjusted her Little Red Riding Hood costume. She tied the cape around her shoulders and pulled the hood over her head. She was ready for the masquerade party, right on time.She wished she could say the same for her roommate.

She loved Karen Chantal dearly, and she was grateful to her friend for helping her get a job and giving her a place to live, but her constant tardiness was irritating.Jessica didn't want to go tonight. She was tired from being on her feet all day, waiting on grumpy customers who couldn't find the right size blouse or skirt or pants. Well, it was no wonder, when they insisted they were a size twelve when they were actually a size sixteen.

To make matters worse, one of the customers complained to Mr. Skiles when Jessica continued to bring size sixteens to the dressing room. Of course, Mr. Skiles had issued his standard 'the customer is always right' lecture, right in the middle of the store in front of other customers and employees. Now she had to go to his stupid party.

She hated Halloween, she hated costume parties, and she hated Mr. Skiles. It was going to be a totally boring evening. What she really wanted was some excitement in her life. Something different. A challenge.

Hooboy, Mr. Skiles was going to love having a singing tomato at hisparty instead of being able to leer at Karen AKA, Catwoman, Jessica thought. Being able to witness his disappointment might make the evening worthwhile.

"Okay, I'll see you at the party."

"You got it."

Jessica gave her costume a last tug. Red Riding Hood without theLittle. What irony decreed it be the last thing the shop had thatfit? Not much to be done about it now. She slid the obligatory basket over her arm and tried an experimentl skip on her way to the door. Maybe after a glass or two of something strong.

The night was blustery and cold, making her glad of the cloak shecould pull around her as she stepped outside.

She squared her shoulders. Not wise to chat up strange...er...wolves at any time far less after dark, even if there were other costumed people out and about, including an adorable group of trick-or-treating Munchkins. "Sorry, I'm not anybody's sweet.""Red, then. I'll call you Red.""Er...do I know you?""You should, even though our last encounter ended badly.""I mean in the real world."His long muzzle gaped in what she assumed was a smile. "Everybody says that. Have you any idea how demoralizing it is to be relegated to the bad guy?"She shrugged, enjoying the conversation in spite of logic saying she should be on her way. Mr. Skiles' party hadn't grown any more appealing. Besides, if she hung around a few more minutes, Karen would be ready and they could go together. "You chose the costume, Wolfie."The grin widened. "Wolfie. Nice." He extended a hairy paw. "I knew we'd meet on friendlier terms one day, Red."

She took the offered paw, wondering which of them looked more ridiculous. He, or rather his costume, felt soft and luxurious. Whoever he was, he hadn't stinted on quality. "Going to grandmother's house?" he asked in that chocolate-coated drawl."Grandmother? No, a party." Good grief, she was stammering on the strength of a pawshake. Get a grip. "Let me guess, Gordon Skiles.""You work for him, too?""In a manner of speaking. I'm his son, Christopher. I've seen you and your housemate in the store a time or two.""Then how come I haven't seen you?""I don't set foot in the place unless I have to." He gave a shudder, making his gorgeous silver fur ripple in the moonlight. She felt an uncharacteristic urge to run her hands through the silky mane. "You don't get on with your father?"Christopher inclined his head. "Understatement of the year. He wanted me to come into the store with him, but I chose art instead." He tilted his head at the clouds scudding across the moon. "I'm not the nine-to-five type." He looked around. "I understood Karen was coming to the party."Disappointment surged through Jessica in waves. She might have known he wasn't interested in her, but had been hanging around in hopes of escorting Karen to the party. She kept her tone cool. "She had a costume malfunction.We're meeting at your father's house later."She expected Christopher to say he'd hang around. Instead he offered her a hairy arm. "Then we two lone wolves better travel together. You never know who's abroad tonight."

Was this guy for real? Mr. Skiles never mentioned having a son. Must be the black sheep of the family.

But no, he was the big, bad wolf, not a sheep. And she wasn't Little Bo Peep.

Speak of the devil. Just as she had Christopher's full attention, Karen came bopping down the front steps.

"Wait for me!" she sang out from behind them. Jessica was sorely tempted to ignore her, but stopped to wait for her friend to catch up. Whoa! This was no singing tomato outfit. It was Little Bo Peep on steroids.

The outfit barely covered Karen's bottom, and the white tights emphasized her shapely legs. Jessica felt overdressed and dowdy in comparison. She might as well have dressed as the Jolly Green Giant for all the notice Christopher would give her now.

At the sight of Christopher, Karen screeched to a halt. "Well, hell-llo, Mr. Wolf."

"This is Christopher, Mr. Skiles's son," Jessica explained.

Did she image it, or did Christopher extend his paw with a smidgeon of reluctance? Definitely imagination. Who'd give Red Riding Hood a second look with Bo Peep spilling out of her costume practically into his hands? "Hi Karen," he growled. The voice was still rich velvet but with a note almost of warning. Halloween is getting to you, kiddo, Jessica scolded herself.

Karen seemed oblivous. "Hi, Chris. Your dad talks about you a lot."

"None of it good, I'm sure."

Karen frowned. "Maybe a little. Is that why we never see you in the store?"

"I like the nightlife better."

He'd kept Jessica's hand tucked in his arm, resisting when she tried to pull free. "Hadn't we better get going?" she urged. The sooner to get this over with, she added mentally.

At sight of Bo Peep, the devil in silken grey fur made a low growling sound of another kind. His eyes narrowed, a breath hissed through very life-like wolven fangs.

Karen paused mid peep, as though sensing the man, er wolf's, reaction. "Jess? Who's the were-guy? He seems to be glaring at me."

"He's not a wolf, he's the black sheep long lost son of Gordon Skiles." Jessica blurted the response, her hands still itching to bury themselves in the mane of glinting fur. She had to stop reading paranormal romances late at night.

Karen gasped.

Christopher gave a cold laugh. "Or you could just call me last year's nightmare."

At Mr. Skiles' spooky old two-story Victorian, the door swung open to a dark, empty house. What was going on? Where were the other guests? She'd expected to see most of the store's employees there, along with the requisite dates or tagalongs.

Her skin broke out in goosebumps and the hair on the back of her neck lifted slightly as if a breeze had sprung up and whispered across her nape. A shrill cackle pierced the air and made her jump.

Karen's fingernails dug into her arm until Jessica was sure she felt blood dripping from the wound. She realized at the same time that Christopher had disappeared. One minute he'd been holding her arm, the next he was just--gone.

"It's about time you two showed up! You know I hate slovenly personal habits."

Jessica jumped at the booming voice of Mr. Skiles coming from her immediate right. She was sure no one was there. She smelled him, though. He always went heavy on the cologne, a sickening combination of musk and pine scent.

"Hello, Mr. Skiles," Karen called out from behind Jessica's back. "Where is everybody?"

A light flicked on in the entryway to reveal their boss in full werewolf disguise. He looked frighteningly real. "Everyone else is already out back. We have a tent set up. Go straight through the living room and out the patio doors. I'll be there when our last straggler shows up."

Jessica breathed a deep sigh of relief. Mr. Skiles had just been having a little fun at their expense. She grabbed Karen's hand and tugged her through the living room. When she opened the glass doors, she heard the reassuring sound of voices and tinkles of laughter. She hated to admit she'd been spooked, even for a minute. But her boss was definitely creepy.

They crossed the lawn to the tent that spread across the spacious backyard. Inside, jack o' lanterns decorated the tables while along the tent poles witches rode broomsticks that swayed in the breeze. Couples danced on a wooden dance floor to music provided by a disc jockey playing cd's. She recognized several of her coworkers and immediately felt more at ease.

Karen let go of her hand and headed across the tent, directly toward one of the newer employees from Men's Shoes. Jessica stayed where she was, just inside the entrance, and looked around, hoping to spot Christopher in the milling crowd. But only to give him a piece of her mind for running off like that, of course.

"Well, hunt me down and shoot me!" said Louise in her singsong, husky voice. "I had NO idea!"

"S'all true. Juss ash someone."

Jessica knew that Louise wouldn't notice her standing just a foot or two away because there was a male in the direct vicinity. Louise was now playing eyebrow tag at Spencer Fenton's drunken lear. Louise felt that eyebrows were the true source of all things seductive. At least, that was Jessica's theory, having watched those now infamous brows do a number of acrobatics every time a man without a wedding ring walked through the door of the store.

Leaving Louise to her hunt, Jessica plunged into the dimness between the structures, looking for Christopher. Obviously he was avoiding his father for the moment. Although why come at all in that case? And what was with the father-son costumes? Coincidence, or Christopher being deliberately provocative?

Whatever she might think of Skiles Senior, he had a wonderful place. The garden seemed to go on forever, ending in a drift of woodland beyond the circle of party lights and music.

A rustling to her right brought her head up. Hefting the stupid basket as her only weapon, she said, "Is anybody there?" Brilliant line, Red, she added to herself. Stop, I have a gun, would have made more sense. Except she didn't.

"As a pup?" The fine hairs on the back of her neck lifted. Then she laughed. "You're really into this wolf thing tonight, aren't you?"

"It's Halloween. Why wouldn't I be?"He touched her arm, starting a fresh shiver, a more pleasant one this time. "Look, even the bats are out."

"I'm scared of bats."

"You're supposed to be scared of wolves, yet you're out in the woods with one." He stepped closer. "You say you're adopted, but you were raised by your grandmother? How is that possible?"

Hard to think straight with the woodsy smell of his breath whispering over her. "My grandmother adopted me. Days after I was born, my parents ran their car off the road after a bat swooped across their line of vision, so I never really knew them."

"Explains the fear and the anomaly," he agreed. "Poor little Red. All alone in the world."

"You know in the fairy tale there was a hunter. Do you have a boyfriend or someone that I'm cutting out?""No, I've sworn off dating""Why? Seems to me you should be busy every night.""I had a bad experience. Most men are wolves without the costumes. Anyway this is not a date. We're just here at the same party.""If it were a date, would you let me take you home?""I always go home with the date that brought me. Are you asking me to go home with you? and whose home are we talking about? Yours or mine?"

"You can call it whatever makes you feel the most comfortable." His silver fur rippled in the moonlight.

This was getting downright weird. Jessica wanted to sink her fingers into his pelt, but she was almost afraid she'd find it was real and not a costume. "Would you take off your mask so I can see your face?"

He shook his head. "Not just yet. I rather like the air of mystery, don't you?"

He chuckled. The resulting sound reverberated through her soul, low and almost menacing. If she felt apprehension before, she felt near panic now.

"Come on. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?"

She looked for words to answer, and felt silly. This costume was good. It was just as good as anything Hollywood had ever produced. That must be the root of her current fear. After all, he was just a man. A man with golden eyes, not to mention a bristling silver coat.

Jessica backed away as her common sense caught up with her. "Nice talking with you, but I'm a bit hungry. That buffet looks too good to miss. I'll catch you la--"

"I wouldn't mind having a bite myself."

The low growl came from just behind her shoulder, not the too-sexy silver wolf before her. Jess spun and almost collided with a tall man she'd never seen before.

He smiled, baring a set of very-realistic fangs. "You don't mind if I have a sample, do you, little wolf? Or were you planning to do the deed yourself?"

"I beg your pardon." Jessica used her best 'stop-the-bullshit' tone. "I don't plan on doing the deed with either of you. Now if you'll excuse me."

Wolf and vampire stepped together, shoulder-to-shoulder, barring her path. The vamp slowly licked one fang in a gesture that really shouldn't have been so sensual. "Well, Red, if you won't have either of us," he purred.

"... perhaps you'd be interested in both?" Wolf finished with a decidedly predatory gleam in his golden eyes.

Spooked by a too-convincing wolf costume, an excess of bats and a scary night, she told herself sternly, forcing herself to drag in a deep breath.

Then she turned and stifled a scream as she slammed into a hairy body, only recovering the power of speech when she glimpsed fingers under the claws grasping her arms. "Mr. Skiles. Do you and your son get off on scaring people half to death?"

She'd never seen her boss rattled, but now he shook her hard. "You've seen Christopher? Tonight?"

"Right here, before you and Karen called out to me."

"Just in time."

She tried to break free but he held her fast. "Which way did he go?"

"I'm not saying anything until you let me go. He doesn't want to see you."

"Listen here, young woman..."

"No, you listen, I've had enough of being bullied and intimidated at work. I won't stand for it in my free time, even if it costs me my job." There, she'd said it.

"What if it costs you your life?"

A chill cycled down her spine. "Is that a threat, Mr. Skiles? One scream from me and Karen will be here to witness anything else you say, so think carefully."

But his hairy paw clamped over her mouth. "You scream and they'll all come running. You're a virgin, aren't you?"

She'd never thought she'd spill her deepest, most humiliating secret to Skiles of all people, but his hold made evasion impossible. She nodded.

"I knew it."

She spat out fake fur as he freed her mouth. "Do you guys belong to some weird cult?"

He barely looked at her as he scanned the woods. "You could say so. Have you heard of lycanthropy?"

"You're a werewolf?" She'd known he was a wolf, but this was too much. "That costume makes you as much a real wolf as this makes me Red Riding Hood."

"I was a wolf," he amended. "Our original name is St Kiles, an ancient Irish lineage that got above themselves, so St. Natalis cursed the males to become werewolves for seven years. I've done my turn. Now I'm retired."

"But Christopher isn't." Oh heaven the costume she'd thought so superior, was real? And she'd nearly gone off with him to his den, thinking his father was her real adversary.

"I see you're starting to understand."

She shook her head. "I don't understand any of this. I came to a party, now I find you're all undead, or whatever you call it."

Oh bloody hell. This couldn't be happening. She must have fallen and hit her head, and this was all some kind of weird coma-dream.

"That's it. Freak night is officially over for Red Riding Hood. I'm going home." Jessica tried to step around Mr. Skiles, but he moved with her, keeping himself between her and Karen.

"Stay where you are, Jessica. Let me handle this."

"Handle what? I don't have a clue what's happening here. You say you're my father, that Karen is a vampire, your son is a werewolf--which, by the way, would make him my brother, right? But you can't be my father. I have a perfectly good father back home in Boise. And he's certainly never been a werewolf."

"I'll explain it all later. You need to trust me."

"Trust you? I don't even like you." With that, she darted around him, and that's when all hell broke loose.

Jessica peered through the darkness, trying to discern what exactly was going on.

She felt someone by her side, had heard him even, but in all the confusion that erupted around them, she couldn't be 100% sure it was Mr. Skiles. Might very well be Christopher. Or that creepy vampire friend of his.

"I feel like I've walked into a movie that's part Harry Potter, part Stephen King, and part M.Night whatever his last name is."

"Oh, but those are works of fiction."

Christopher. Not Mr. Skiles. Jessica wondered where the old man had gone too. As creepy as he made her feel, she recognized she'd been somewhat safe with him.

Before she could make a sound, he was gone. Poof! Disappeared. She whirled around, trying to orient herself in the dark woods, but she had no idea which direction to take to get back to the house.

A hand clamped around her upper arm and dragged her a few feet before she dug in her heels. "What the HELL is going on? I'm not moving another step until you do some explaining, Mr. Skiles. And I quit, too, just so you know."

"You can't quit. Now that they know you're a virgin, you need my protection. I need to keep you where I can watch over you."

Oh, that was a good one. She couldn't quit? Well, he could just stand back and watch her. "Like hell I can't quit. All I have to do is not show up. Now, if you'll point the way back to the house, I'm going home."

Mr. Skiles tugged on her arm, and this time she followed him, hoping he was leading the way out of these monster-infested woods.

"You can't go back to your apartment, either. Karen is one of them. You aren't safe there. You'll have to stay with me."

"Uh, thanks, but no thanks. I can take care of myself. I have no intention of spending any more time with you."

Mr. Skiles stopped and turned her to face him. He looked different in the moonlight. He'd pulled his mask off so she could see his face, and for the first time, all she saw was concern. For her. "Jessica, I know you don't believe me, but you are my daughter. I can prove it to you, if you'll let me. Just spend the night at my house, and as soon as the party is over, we'll talk. There's someone I'd like you to meet, waiting in my office. He'll watch over you until I can clear the grounds. Would you, please, just give me this one night?"

"Show yourself," Jessica demanded. Too much had happened tonight for her to remain in a room with someone she couldn't see.

"Why?" the disembodied voice asked.

Jessica shivered, but not from the cold. A lightheaded feeling assaulted her and she groped for a chair. Great! This was all she needed. First Christopher, and now this voice making her feel like a giddy school girl.

"Because, I'm leaving if you don't."

The silence stretched. She could feel the carving in the wood of the chair she gripped. Cool air wafted in through the windows and a slight scent of something reached her nose. Musk? No. Sandalwood? No. She hook her head. She'd read too many romances.

"You've got until the count of three," she warned. "One...,"

"You can't leave here. It's not safe."

"Two...,"

"Jessica," the voice drew her name out impatiently.

She let go of the chair and straightened. "Three. Time's up. See ya."

She turned toward the door and took one step before the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, warning her of the presence behind her.

She stood there, savoring the unyielding male protecting her, his hard body suggesting they move on from masquerade to night games.

Hold on. This night had gotten crazy enough without contemplating losing her virginity to this stranger.

Taking a step back, Jessica let out the breath she'd been holding. When Killian made no move to stop her, she crossed the room, taking a seat in front of the flickering light of the fire. Its warmth was poor substitute for the touch of her protector.

Protector? "Just what are you protecting me from?"

"Dangers beyond your imagination." His voice rasped against her skin, giving her goosebumps.

She shivered. "The possibility of my roommate having fangs is beyond my imagination." Pulling her thin costume cloak closer, her shivering intensified. "Why is my virginity an issue?"

"Haven't you ever watched a vampire movie?" The dark shadow moved closer. "Don't worry, Jessica. I'll take care of you."

Dammit! "I don't want to be taken care of!" She glared at the shape behind her. "If my virginity is an issue, I'll just get rid of it."

"Don't even joke about it." His hand weighed heavily on her shoulder.

"It's mine to do with as I like." She wriggled her shoulders, but his grasp was inescapable, her body heavy with his influence.

Jessica leaned back in her seat, her head spinning, and closed her eyes.First her boss, who claimed to have been a werewolfe for seven years, said he was her father. ( that was going to take some serious thinking)Next her room mate was a Vampire. Now how did that happen without her noticing anything at all. She wasn't really that dense and innocent was she? Then there was Christopher, who seemed to be a real active werewolf, and supposedly Skiles son. Well if he was her brother, half or whatever, how come he was looking to snack on her, or seduce her or something?And finally this Killian guy. He was to protect her, but he stirred feelings she wasn't too happy about.And furthermore, when she thought that losing her virginity would just resolve the issue, he came a little unglued.Obviously, there was something Jessica was missing. Some really big puzzle pieces were not in place.If she was adopted (and her parents never told her) there was another dead end. And why did a bat come flying at the car window causing them to crash? Some said that Vampires could turn into bats. Was that why she was so afraid of bats? Did she see a Vampire instead of a real bat? And her reason for being a virgin was simple, she never found anyone with whom she cared enough to share herself. So that was the key but what did it mean?

Jessica opened an eye, registered the stiffness of her neck, then realized she was still in Skiles' library. And the speaker was the shadowy Killian St. Avila.

After three attempts to stand, she accepted assistance from St. Avila. He lifted her from the chair where she'd slept, his hands gentle but firm against her waist. "Did you put drugs in the punch?" she murmured, rotating her shoulders inside the scratchy costume.

"To ensure your compliance. Let me remedy the effects." He touched her shoulder, much as he had earlier, and she felt lighter. Alert.

His touch was almost like... She would have said magic, if she believed in such nonsense. It had to be attraction, she reasoned, though what she could be attracted to when she had yet to get a good look at him was beyond her reasoning.

"Come."

The fire had died down, and there were no electric lights on in the room. St. Avila disappeared into the shadows in the recesses of the library.

"Where?" she asked, feeling more than ever that she'd fallen into a fairy tale.

"It's time to rejoin Skiles. He's waiting in the Sanctuary beneath the mansion."

“Come.”The voice of her mysterious protector – her Watcher – called out to her from the shadows. She felt drawn towards the sound, and carefully followed St. Avila’s path into the library. As she was walking Jessica squinted her eyes, trying to get a clear view of her surroundings, but the dim light in the room made it impossible. She couldn’t make out any details, only vague shapes of very tall and dark bookshelves, filled with books. There was a scent of old dry papers in the air, but the scent mingled with something else too. She wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air. Perhaps it was that sandalwood cologne she thought she had smelled earlier?Jessica walked slowly towards the dark, shadowy shape of St. Avila. There were no sounds as she walked, and she could feel the luxurious thickness of the soft carpet beneath her feet. The closer she was getting to the tall man in the shadows, the slower she walked. Her previous feeling of bravery had faltered a bit. And now she was about to follow this stranger into a place he referred to as the Sanctuary. And it was beneath the mansion. Beneath. What kind of man had secret rooms beneath his home?“Come. He is waiting for us.” St. Avila’s voice came from somewhere directly to the left of her. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. Jessica jumped, and quickly turned her head towards him, but he had retreated and taken one step back from her, so she still could not see his face, only make out his shape. How had he managed to get that near her without her even noticing?Jessica opened her mouth to say something, but at the same time St. Avila opened a hidden door in the wall. There was a soft light shining behind it, revealing a short narrow pathway, with walls, ceilings and floors all appearing to be cut granite. A few feet into the little pathway Jessica could see the beginning of a staircase. St. Avila motioned for her to enter through the open doorway and Jessica walked over the threshold into the other room. Behind her she heard the sound of how St. Avila closed the door.

St Avila descended the staircase at Jessica's side, yet she heard only the echo of her own footsteps as she trod on each granite stair. An odd, ephemeral glow ahead seemed to draw her on.

What waited at the bottom of the stairs? The lair of a wolf? A vampire's crypt? Was Skiles really her father? How could she have a werewolf brother and a secret vampire roomate? And what of the other vampire?

All three of the men, if she could call them that, had an odd, compelling effect on her. Skiles Junior. The vampire. And St Avila. But only St Avila had compelled her to sleep simply by the touch of his hand. Only St Avila made her want to do anything, anything at all, for a glimpse his face.

"I'm not sure this is such a good idea." She muttered the words and sensed St Avila's gaze on her. How could she know it was hard, determined and somehow possessive when she wasn't even looking at him? When he had yet to reveal himself to her?

Or was it that he was possessed rather than possessive? Or perhaps she was simply losing her mind.

She turned her head quickly and--oh dear God--saw his face. Saw eyes that held dark secrets and an uncanny familiarity to . . . something. Or someone. In fact, St Avila seemed to be the vampire, Skiles Junior and himself, all rolled into one. She had no idea what made her think that, but the conviction lingered.

"Who are you?" Jess asked.

He opened his mouth, perhaps to answer, perhaps to strike her dead or worse, when another voice spoke.

"Jess?" Karen called from behind them on the staircase. "Are you there?" Her tone seemed to take on a sinister quality as a shroud of mist formed at the base of the staircase and began to seep upward toward Jess and St Avila.

How could anyone call this dark, hidden place a Sanctuary? The cavern was huge, the edges lost in shadow. From the vaulted ceiling she heard mysterious fwapping sounds. Please, not bats, she prayed, then smiled grimly. As if they were her biggest worry at a time like this.

St. Avila led her to a central area where cloaked figures waited in a semi-circle. "Who are you?" Jessica demanded, glad to sound less shaken than she felt.

"Hunt me down and shoot me," came a husky-voiced response.

Jessica peered into the dimness. "Louise? Of the eyebrows?"

Louise gestured to her right. "And Spencer Fenton. And Karen, of course."

Jessica swallowed hard. "Obviously not here for the sale bargains."

"We're here for you," Louise said.

Jessica felt rather than heard St. Avila move closer. "Excuse me if I don't feel flattered. All you've done so far is terrify me out of my wits."

"But they do," Karen said. "Christopher owes his vamp friend a long-standing debt. What better way to pay than with a nice, juicy virgin."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Doesn't that sound like fun. Not. How come you're all so keen to save me? Aren't you a vampire too, Karen?"

"I'm a white vamp. I get to go out in daylight, live off platelets, all the good stuff. Immortality's the only downside."

Downside? Jessica thought better of arguing. At least this bunch seemed to be on her side. Although there was that table.

"How do you plan on saving me from Christopher's fangy friend?"

Louise and Fenton came forward, towing her gently but irresistably toward the table. The bats were now in Jessica's stomach, turning handsprings. Why wasn't St. Avila intervening? What a time to pull a disappearing act.

She tried to resist being stretched out on the stone surface, warm in spite of its granite looks. But when Karen stepped in to help, three against one was no contest. Clamps built into the table came around her wrists and ankles, holding her fast.

"Um, you're the good guys, right?" she asked, her voice hoarse with fear.

"All in your point of view," Louise said.

Had she backed the wrong horse? Jessica had only their word that Christopher was the real threat. But he wasn't the one tying her down and discussing her inconvenient virginity.

In horror, Jessica realized the throbbing throughout her felt good. Dear heaven she wasn't enjoying this, was she?

Any such thought vanished as Louise approached her with a strange, carved object. It looked like...no, why would they need a carved giraffe down here. Unless...

She squirmed frantically. "Oh no, you don't. I may be keen to lose it, but not to a bunch of oddballs in robes who moonlight as sales staff in my father's store."

"You accept Mr. Skiles as your father. Why not the rest?" Louise asked. "This is for your own good."She moved closer.

"Look, if we have to do this, I'd like some choice."

Louise's eyes gleamed in the dimness. "Name your choice."

"Killian St. Avila," Jessica said on a note of desperation. At the same time, she knew she'd made exactly the right choice. "But not like this. We'll need some privacy."

A dark wave of anger battered at Jessica's body, slammed against her mind from all sides. From all the occupants of this evil room. Her gaze searched the area frantically. She wanted help, St Avila, salvation. Anything to get her out of this predicament.

Karen moved toward her, weilding the carved giraffe ($20.95 in the Objects de Arte department)as though she intended to kybosh Jessica with it. Jessica didn't want to consider any other alternatives.

Jess screamed. The blood-curdling kind of scream that starts and builds up and never ends. Except, the scream stayed inside her head while they all descended on her, their faces contorted into grisly, determined masks.

"St Avila. Save me!" The shrieked words really left her this time. They echoed through the ugly underground cavern.

At the last moment when Jessica was on the brink of insanity, she felt a probe in her mind. An examination both cold yet warming.

She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the stone table, finding to her surprise that her stance was rock solid. Either Kilian St. Avila was lending her strength, or he was right and she was only now coming into her own.

She took the hand he held out to her, feeling a surge of something strong and alien enter her. "I'm no use to you any more," she told Karen and her friends.

Louise looked furious. "How can anything have changed in a few seconds? No one came near you."

"No one you saw," St. Avila murmured.

"Killian came to me in his own way," Jessica said. "I accepted him. Nothing to it really. So you and Christopher will have to work out your own problems."

"You can't do this," Louise spluttered. "It was all worked out so carefully. Karen and Christopher were to lure you here, then we wagered that whoever managed to seduce you first held power in the Lower Kingdom for the next thousand years."

Karen looked faint even for a white vampire. "Oh no, this means..."

"By your terms, I now rule the Lower Kingdom," St. Avila said. "With Jessica at my side if she chooses."

With her hand curled in his, she had no doubts. "I do choose."

"Stop this," ordered an angry voice. Mr. Skiles staggered into the circle, looking as if he'd gone a dozen rounds with an angry rottweiler. "The deal was you gave me back my daughter, and you fulfilled her wish for a night of adventure. Nobody said anything about seducing her to win a wager."

Jessica gave her father a gentle smile. "Before tonight, I would have said you'd given me both my heart's desires - to have something exciting happen in my life, and to find out whether my real parents died in that car crash."

"And now?" Mr. Skiles sounded hopeful.

"Now my desires have changed," she admitted. "I appreciate all you tried to do for me, even if for some of you, your reasons were your own. I'm also sorry that Christopher gave you a hard time."

"He won't give up," Mr. Skiles warned. "This is just the beginning. By throwing in your lot with St. Avila, you don't know what you've unleashed."

Jessica smiled up at the former watcher, her watcher and consort now. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it, with Killian's help."

He favored her with an other-worldly smile that sent ripples of sensation through her, reminding her of what she'd experience while bound to the stone table. "You'll always have my help," he assured her. "Come, my dearest, let's leave these folk to their petty squabbles. We have a kingdom to rule." ~oo0oo~

These story contributions were great. It took twists and turns I couldn't have imagined. Kudos to everyone who posted. We'll do it again soon, with a different story. Keep checking back for the next round.

Ask David

Story Finds

Just Contemporary Romance

About My Books

Wild child Lacy Fitzgerald may have made one bet too many. This time, the stakes are her trust fund, her freedom, and even her single status. To win, she must take her father's seed money and create a successful lingerie company in one year, and she must do it on her own. Six months into it, out of money and deeply in debt, she hires a handsome hunk to make her catalog sizzle and her sales soar.

But far from being a typical lingerie model, there's more to Gabriel Wallace than meets her eyes or her hands. Gabe isn't a down-on-his-luck construction worker standing in the unemployment line. He's not broke and desperate for any job, even one that has him posing in nothing but skin and his shorts. And he's most definitely not the kind of guy who wears skintight, heart-speckled silk briefs under his rugged jeans.

But for the chance to spend time with Lacy, Gabe will do almost anything. Anything, that is, except tell her who he really is.

To My Readers:Double Exposure is a story very dear to my heart. Lacy and Gabe deserve each other, but parental interference threatens their chance at happiness. How many of us have had the same experience? I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Desperate to break away from her overbearing mother and holier-than-thou sister, Cassie Mills takes on a moonlighting job she'd never have considered otherwise. But she needs money, and she needs it now.

Cassie runs afoul of an outdated and rarely enforced law when she decides to host Pleasure Parties. Reed Stevens is working undercover on the vice squad, not his favorite assignment, especially when he's assigned to what he considers fluff duty, cracking down on the home party sex toy business.

Cassie faces her greatest fear--what will her mother think?--and her aunt's Bridge Club. Reed faces a jealous and unstable partner, his ex-wife and her new love, and the wrath of Cassie's supporters. Neither one is prepared for the day when their professional paths cross. Shock, feelings of betrayal, lust, and love all intermingle until neither one is sure who is right and who is wrong.

Caramia Kensington makes a living setting up seduction scenes for rich playboys. Imagine her surprise when her current customer turns out to be her old high school flame, Grayson Montgomery. And the woman he plans to seduce is Cara.

Cara refused to have sex with Gray when they were fifteen. She had plans and dreams for her life, and they didn't include risking an unplanned pregnancy. She made him a promise: if they were both still single at thirty, she'd have sex with him. And the next day is her thirtieth birthday.

Gray plans to collect on that promise Cara made back in high school. But his plans don't end with one night. Somehow he has to convince her he has staying power, that he will still be there in the morning, and for the rest of her life. Not an easy task when Cara has been left by every man in her life so far.

Regina Baker has loved Sam Hyatt since the third grade, but Sam has an ideal woman in mind, and Reggie doesn't even come close. As the heir to a sizable fortune, Sam has a responsibility to marry well. His wife needs to be well bred, well educated, and well heeled. As a poor preacher's daughter with a landscaping business that barely pays the bills, Reggie feels like a mangy mutt compared to Sam's current girlfriend, who has a pedigree a mile long.

Their matchmaking friends, Cara and Gray, arrange for Sam and Reggie to join them on a two week cruise, where Sam will have a chance to see what he's been missing without the society trappings he's normally surrounded by, and Reggie will have two weeks to win Sam's heart.

Judge Madelyn Cooper never shows signs of weakness, but when a killer threatens her daughter's life, Maddie does what any mother would do. Run to the place where her daughter will be safe. And that place is Greendale, Texas. Maddie left Greendale fourteen years earlier, pregnant, broke, and without saying a word to Rand McCade. What could she say after her father killed his parents?

Rand McCade is determined to keep Greendale safe. As Sheriff, he promised there would be no repeats of the horrible day when his parents were murdered. Now Maddie is back, bringing trouble with her once again. And this time, she has a daughter. His daughter.

As a psychopath sets his sights on Maddie, Rand and Maddie must figure out who is after her, and why, before someone else ends up dead.

Logan Tanner shook the red dust of West Texas off his boots at the age of eighteen and hasn't looked back. When his father has a stroke, Logan is temporarily forced to return home and take over the family ranch. He still feels responsible for his mother's death when he was twelve, and has never gotten over the guilt. Now he's faced with having to protect his twelve year old daughter Katie and his sister and her friend Megan Flynn. It's nearly more than one man can handle. He can't wait to get back to Dallas.

Megan Flynn immediately falls in love with Morris Springs, Texas, population 976, when she delivers Logan's runaway daughter to his doorstep. Raised as a city girl, Megan has a dream of a few acres, a few champion Blue Heelers, and a small-town veterinary practice. The only thing standing between her and her dream is one stubborn, reluctant cowboy with an overprotective streak as wide as the West Texas prairie. But her stubborn streak is a match for his any day. And she's determined to prove it.

Blame it on Texas is a story of the power of love to overcome any adversity, the strength of family and friendship, and the joy that comes with being part of something bigger than yourself.

From the softer side of Tori Scott, a story of two single parents brought together by a shared accident, a teenager with an attitude, and a little girl who steals everyone's hearts.

Sandy Morrow's four year old daughter is hit by an SUV as she's riding her tricycle down the sidewalk near her home. Her new next door neighbors, Hunter Thurman and his son Jason, had been arguing just before Jason jumped in the vehicle and took off without looking behind him. Now her daughter has a concussion and a broken leg,and Sandy has a sexy neighbor who will stop at nothing to make it up to her.Whether she wants him to or not.

Hunter Thurman has a mission: to fix the mess his son has made and to fix the mess he's made of his son's life. He is determined to take care of his next door neighbor and her daughter after the accident, but Sandy is independent and determined to take care of herself, insisting she doesn't need Hunter's help.

This book is dedicated to the men and women who leave homes and families to defend their country and champion freedom across the globe. You have our everlasting gratitude and we pray for your safety.

About Me

Award winning, Amazon best-selling author Tori Scott lives in East Texas with her husband Tony and her dog Blue. When she's not writing, you might find her taking pictures of random things or hanging out on Facebook or Twitter.